"Redondo Beach" is a song by

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

. It was first released on Smith's 1975 album ''

Horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

'', with band members

Richard Sohl Richard Arthur Sohl (May 26, 1953June 3, 1990) was an American pianist, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work with the Patti Smith Group. He also played with Iggy Pop, Nina Hagen and Elliott Murphy. He died on June 3, 1990, of a hear ...

and

Lenny Kaye Lenny Kaye (''né'' Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group. Early life Kaye was born to Jewish parents in the Washington Heights area of upper Ma ...

credited as co-writers. The lyrics were originally published as a poem in Smith's 1972 book ''

kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

'' under the title "Radando Beach".

Song

The lyrics relate the suicide by drowning of a young woman following an argument with the song's narrator. It has frequently been interpreted as a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

-themed song; Smith appeared to encourage this interpretation in her live performances, often introducing the song with "Redondo Beach is a beach where women love other women". She later said that she wrote the lyrics in 1971 following a fight with her sister Linda; Linda had disappeared for the day, causing Patti to worry that she had come to harm. Smith also stated that she considers herself "beyond gender" in her artistic expression. Smith's lyrics were set to a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

arrangement.

Morrissey version

The song was part of

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

's live set list throughout his December 2004 Arena Tour. "Redondo Beach / There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" was a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single released by Morrissey to promote his live album ''

Live at Earls Court ''Live at Earls Court'' is a live album by Morrissey. Its sleeve notes state that it was "recorded live at Earls Court in London on 18 December 2004 in front of 17,183 people." Track listing All tracks written by Morrissey and Alain Whyte exc ...

'' in 2005. The double A-side reached number 11 in the United Kingdom, and "Redondo Beach" reached number 33 in Sweden.

Track listings

7" vinyl # "Redondo Beach" (live) (

) – 4:07 # "

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band the Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey. Featured on the band's third studio album ''The Queen Is Dead'', it was not released as a ...

" (live) (

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

) – 4:50 CD single # "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (live) (Johnny Marr, Morrissey) - 4:50 # "Redondo Beach" (live) (Patti Smith, Richard Sohl, Lenny Kaye) – 4:07 # "Noise Is the Best Revenge" (Janice Long session 2004) (Morrissey,

Boz Boorer Martin James "Boz" Boorer (born 19 May 1962 in Edgware, Middlesex, England) is an English guitarist and producer most known for his work founding the new wave rockabilly group the Polecats; and later for his work as a co-writer, guitarist and m ...

) - 4:03 DVD single # "Redondo Beach" (live) (Patti Smith, Richard Sohl, Lenny Kaye) – 4:07 # "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (live) (Johnny Marr, Morrissey) – 4:50 # "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small" (Janice Long session 2004) (Morrissey,

Alain Whyte Alain Gordon Whyte (pronounced Alan) (born 3 July 1967) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and singer. He was Morrissey's main songwriting partner and guitarist between 1991 and 2007. Prior to 1991, Whyte previously been in the bands ...

) # "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (live promotional video) # "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (video taken from Manchester Evening News Arena)

Charts

Release history

Other cover versions

The song was performed by

Angel Corpus Christi Andrea Ross, better known as Angel Corpus Christi, is a San Francisco-based singer, songwriter and accordionist, who records and performs with her husband, guitarist Rich Stim (of MX-80).Hage, Erik " Angel Corpus Christi Biography, AllMusic. Ret ...

on ''I Love NY'', her 1984 album of cover versions that were originally recorded by New York-based artists.

References

External links

* * {{Morrissey 1975 songs 2005 singles Patti Smith songs Morrissey songs Songs about beaches Songs about suicide Songs written by Patti Smith Songs about Los Angeles Lesbian-related songs Redondo Beach, California Songs written by Lenny Kaye Songs written by Richard Sohl Song recordings produced by Peter Asher Song recordings produced by John Cale UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles